To the Editor:

After careful review and scrutiny of our options, the Board of Trustees and Management of McCarter Theatre made the difficult decision to lay off a majority of our full time and seasonal staff as of May 15th. We will continue to provide health insurance for those impacted employees through June.

We also have been able to meet our obligations to the artists involved with the productions and performances that were canceled this season. With no clear timeline for restarting performances, and the general uncertainty about the length of social distancing, we believe it is best to focus on the long-term health of the organization.

The sacrifices we make as an institution and the financial steps we take at this time are vitally important to securing the organization’s future.  By safeguarding our financial position now, we also improve our capacity to open our doors and stages for employees, audiences, students and community partners as soon as it is safe to do so. 

We believe these difficult but necessary decisions will put us in a stable position when we are able to resume our programming and bring audiences back to McCarter in the months ahead.

McCarter has been a vital theatrical home for more than 90 years. We have maintained that by presenting and nurturing some of the most important artists, their stories and their ideas. Until we are able to reopen, we will tell these stories and engage our audiences as best we can through McCarter@Home — our virtual classroom and performance space.

With the support of our community, we look forward to the day when our stages come alive, and we can gather once again to create the human connections we so desperately need and desire.

On behalf of the entire McCarter Theatre Center family, we wish you all good health and optimism in the days to come.

Robert J. Caruso
President, McCarter Board of Trustees